LessonsStates of the Subject: Proper Names, Prior-Reference Article and AnnexationQuiz

أو تعظيم، أو إهانة كما في الألقاب الصالحة لذلك
Or for honoring or disparaging, as with titles that are suitable for either purpose.

A proper name or epithet can do more than identify: it can bring an evaluative association into the listener's mind. A title conventionally associated with dignity can convey honor; one with a disparaging sense can communicate insult.

The effect does not arise mechanically from morphological shape. It depends on the expression's recognized use, the speaker's intention, and context. A rhetorical analysis of a name does not by itself justify factual judgments about the moral qualities of its bearer.

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Honor and disparagement through naming

States of the Subject: Proper Names, Prior-Reference Article and Annexation

أو تعظيم، أو إهانة كما في الألقاب الصالحة لذلك
Or for honoring or disparaging, as with titles that are suitable for either purpose.

A proper name or epithet can do more than identify: it can bring an evaluative association into the listener's mind. A title conventionally associated with dignity can convey honor; one with a disparaging sense can communicate insult.

The effect does not arise mechanically from morphological shape. It depends on the expression's recognized use, the speaker's intention, and context. A rhetorical analysis of a name does not by itself justify factual judgments about the moral qualities of its bearer.